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Cervelo Rca

Yesterday, Cervelo officially launched their new Project California Rca frameset which, according to the company, “integrates category-defining light weight, stiffness, and ride quality with S-series aerodynamics.” That claim of lighter and stiffer with better aerodynamics and great ride quality sounds a bit too good to be true, and would come across as nothing but marketing BS from a lot of companies. Cervelo though has always been rooted in design and engineering, and when they launch a bike like this, you hear about it directly from the people who made it happen. They go deeper than short promotional clips though, with a 29 page white paper by engineers David Killing, Damon Rinard, and engineer/cofounder Phil White. The paper is quite interesting, and explains much of the technical work that drove the design of this frameset, which weighs in at 667 grams for a 54 cm size (with paint and hardware).

The final design is the result of 93 iterative frame shapes in CAD that were virtually tested based on 15 parameters and their potential values (explained in more detail in the white paper). One of the noticeable results of that work is a tube shape that Cervelo refers to as “Squoval 3,” which significantly reduces aerodynamic drag. With the help of “Foam Dave” (shown below) in the wind tunnel, Cervelo engineers determined that the new frame has an Aerodynamic savings of 7.4 watts compared to the current R5ca (10.2 watts vs. a typical road bike).

The frame shape is only part of the innovation story with this bike. 3M’s nano-silica filled PowerLux™ resin was used in key areas to improve “interlaminar shear and compression strength while maintaining light weight.” According to Cervelo engineers, “compared to more common nano-rubber filled epoxy resins (“toughened” resin systems), which increase toughness at the expense of interlaminar shear strength and compression strength, 3M’s new resin system improves all three properties.” Metallic grain was added for a strong, light coating on the fork steerer. “The grains in PowerMetal Nanovate™ are 1000 times smaller, increasing yield strength by 7 times over conventional nickel.”

There are many other innovative features including hollow carbon fiber dropouts, an asymmetric BBright PressFit bottom bracket, internal bulkheads to boost stiffness for the thin wall frame, future-proof internal cable stops (click-in for mechanical, electronic, hydraulic, etc.), and an integrated power meter magnet. I won’t get into all of them in this post, but for more information, I do encourage you to read the full white paper.

The technical data is interesting, but you should also check out the promotional videos created by the crew at Verdict Digital. I already mentioned the engineering one, but there are quite a few others that are worth watching, including the official promo overview.

Oh yeah…I almost forgot. If you are wondering about the price, that is where that “too good to be true” part that I mentioned comes in. At $10,000 for a frameset with a limited edition run of 325, this is definitely not a bike for everyone. The good news though, is that the technology will trickle down and will influence future high end bikes from Cervelo…and from other manufacturers.

Posted in Road.

Tagged with carbon fiber, Cervelo, Project California, road bike.

5 comments

By James Thomas – March 15, 2013

City Speeder recumbent by Roel Verhagen-Kaptein

Roel Verhagen Kaptein City speeder 01 Fresh on the heels of my last post, we have a reader submitted design from Roel Verhagen-Kaptein (perfect for a day like today when I am pressed for time).

Roel explains that the City Speeder is “a recumbent bike made for commuting in a fast and comfortable way. The streamlined body makes the bike fast and keeps you comfortable and dry. The streamline baggage compartment can hold your backpack, suitcase or can be used as a child seat. The design layout makes that you can use all standard parts for the driveline.”

In addition to the City Speeder, Roel has another recumbent design in his coroflot portfolio, the Evolution bike which can be seen here. Both the City Speeder and Evolution were originally designed for the International Bicycle Design Competition, which ends with an awards ceremony each year at the Taipei Cycle Show (coming up in just over a week).

Roel Verhagen Kaptein City speeder 04

Roel Verhagen Kaptein City speeder 02

Posted in Commuter, Concept.

Tagged with commuter bike, reader submitted design, recumbent.

9 comments

By James Thomas – March 12, 2013

Tips for having your design featured here

I have been amazed and delighted to see the traffic to Bicycle Design increase over the years…especially in the last year or so. The fact that more and more people are reading is great, but with only a few hours each week to spend on this blog, it has become much more difficult for me to keep up with the volume of email that I receive each day. My favorite messages are the ones directly from designers with a project to share, like the postal bike by Luke Guttery that I posted last week. Unfortunately though, a few good reader submitted projects have been lost in the shuffle recently, as I quickly scan my inbox and try to weed out all of the off-topic messages and requests (seriously PR people, I am never going to post about NFL merchandise or scrapbooking accessories, so keep the messages related to innovative bike stuff if you don’t want to be blocked).

If you are a designer with an interesting project that you would like for me to post, I want to share a few tips to increase the likelihood that your project will be shared here. First, make sure that you include the word SUBMISSION in the subject of your email. I look for those messages first, because I know that they are coming directly from readers. Second, do your best to make your design easy for me to post. Often I receive messages from designers that contain links to their work with no further explanation. Sometimes I have time to follow links and learn about the project, but other times I just flag those messages, then get busy with my own design projects and never get back to them. If you provide a 200 to 400 word description of your project in the email, it is much easier for me to quickly understand your idea so that I can easily share it in a post. I usually like to quote the designer when I post a concept too, so take a little time to explain the idea behind the design in your own words. Finally, I appreciate it when people size images that they send for the web. I usually resize images that I post to around 800 pixels wide, so there is no need to send extremely large files. That goes back to the same theme I mentioned before…making it easy for me will greatly increase the chance that I can share your work. I am not able to post everything that I receive, but I do appreciate all the submissions from designers, and the links and tips shared by all readers.

I don’t want to post without sharing a design concept, so here is link to the DORA helmet concept by Balázs Filczer. As the post explains, the helmet features front and read integrated lights and turn signals on each side that work in “tandem with adaptable Bluetooth handlebar controls to give surrounding vehicles notice of the rider’s intent to turn or brake with universally recognizable light signals and colors.” It seems like a great idea to me. See an animated video and many more rendered images at YankoDesign.

Posted in Uncategorized.

Tagged with blog maintenance, helmet, turn signals.

6 comments

By James Thomas – March 8, 2013

Winners of the ISUDA mobile bike share design competition

Team Roda design- the reader’s choice award

Voting ended in the online poll to select the reader’s choice winner of the Bicycle Design/ ISUDA bike share design competition, and the Roda design by Steve O’Neill, Niall O’Loughlin, Robert McKenna, and Mark McGuinness took the top spot with 31% of the votes. I suspect that the Roda team had an organized local voting campaign underway because they started slow, but quickly shot ahead in the poll the first week and stayed out front for the reminder of the voting period. That is the nature of online voting though, so congrats to team Roda on the win (though I am not sure how the four of them are going to share that Q-bike).

The reader’s choice winning Roda design was not one of the jury’s top picks, but I can share comments from three of the jurors about it.

Mark Sanders

The cheap steel frame as an insert into a PP moulding is an intriguing idea, and if it could be done would make for a self coloured and abuse resistant rental bike – some good sketches too, especially simple ‘S’ dock at centre of docking station sketch selection. But again, although functional, the bicycle design is pretty mediocre – kinda retro.

Yap Fook Fah

Nice but conventional design. No detail on how bike is locked to the station (at the dropouts?).

James Thomas

I am not really a fan of the aesthetics of the bike or the station (which is not mobile). I do like the simple frame construction on the bike and parts of the system interface though (the Smartphone app and the user set pattern to unlock a bike).

Mathew Boobyer’s concept- the jury’s top pick

In addition to the reader’s choice winner, Francis from ISUDA is providing a second Q-bike prize for the jury’s top choice. Before the online voting started, Francis Chu, Mark Sanders, Yap Fook Fah, and I discussed the entries and ranked our top picks. The Isuda Concept Bike by Matthew Boobyer, which happened to finish 2nd in the reader poll, was the clear winner by the jury vote. Below, you can read the comments from each juror about Matthew’s design.

Francis Chu

A well thought through bicycle and station design. Umbrella holder is a nice touch. On the down side, the mobile platform seems to be too large. It also takes up a large space when it is “unfolded”.

Mark Sanders

The portable docking station makes sense as avoids the time consuming work of loading bikes on and off trucks to move them back to where needed, which I believe is an inefficient part of current schemes . The bicycle design is pretty mediocre.

Yap Fook Fah

Clean bike design with nice features – mudguards, integrated basket and map display. Portable docking design concept is nice, but I’m not too sure if the high platform could be a problem. Getting the bike down and rolling it down backward could be a challenge for some users.

James Thomas

Best solution to the mobile station issue. The live map to show where stations (and maybe bikes) are located is a good idea, as is the light indicator to show availability. I don’t particularly love the bikes, but the interactive maps, integrated lights, and ample storage are all nice features. I do have a concern about the safety of a steep metal ramp to roll the bikes up and down. The potential for slipping and falling would need to be addressed in the design.

That covers the jury comments for the two entries that will be awarded prizes, but I can share our feedback about the other designs in a separate post if there is any interest. It was a fun to review the entries, and though we didn’t get as many as we hoped, the competition did lead to some interesting discussion on the topic of optimizing a bike share program to use mobile stations. The Core77 blog, Atlantic Cities, and Treehugger were just a few of the sites to share opinions about the entries. We definitely appreciate their input, and the comments from all of you as well.

…and of course, a big thanks to all of you who took the time to design and submit an entry. Participation from readers is what makes this blog fun, so I definitely appreciate the interaction.

Posted in Commuter, Concept, Events.

Tagged with bike sharing, design competition, ISUDA, ISUDA Bike Share Design Competition.

6 comments

By James Thomas – March 7, 2013

An e-bike for Deutsche Post by Luke Guttery

Luke Guttery, of Axon56 design lab, recently sent me these images from a project that he has been working on for Deutsche Post. The electric bike, designed specifically for use by the postal service in Germany, is a collaborative design effort with Grace GmbH and Nicolai GmbH (a company that Luke believes is the highest precision bicycle manufacturer in the world).

Luke can’t release too many detailed specs on the bikes at the moment, but he points out that there are quite a few “working prototypes cruising the streets Berlin streets as we speak.” The bikes are currently under testing and a second design revision is underway, so it won’t be much longer before these bikes are commonplace in Germany

Luke explains that the “design started with simple sketches on paper, looking at symmetrical shapes and how to maximize storage capacity on the bike.” As with most design projects, quite a few sketch and 3d rendering revisions were required to get to the engineering phase of the development process. The sketches, renderings, and photos shown here give you a glimpse into that design process, and we can look forward to seeing the final design once it is completed and put into use by German postal carriers.

Posted in Concept, E-bike, Utility.

Tagged with E-bike, Germany, postal bike, utility bike.

8 comments

By James Thomas – March 4, 2013

Wood and leather commuter gear from Nisnas Industries

I briefly mentioned Nisnas Industries a couple of years ago when it was a new venture by founders Yossi and Max. At the time, I referred to them as “a small workshop dedicated to custom commuters in the city of Haifa in northern Israel.” That description is probably still fairly accurate, though it appears that they are more focused on their handcrafted wood and leather commuter gear now than on custom frames.

One thing that has not changed though is their focus on the neighborhood where they started. Yossi and Max currently have a Kickstarter campaign underway to, as they explain, “launch a larger community center for youth in the Wadi Nisnas neighborhood of Haifa that will double as a manufacturing center to produce our wood and leather designs.” The space will allow them to increase production and employ more local artists, and will be open after hours to serve as a community workshop for local youth.

You can see a few of the handmade wood and leather bike commuter oriented goods that they produce in this post, but I encourage you to check out the Kickstarter page and the Nisnas blog to see much more. I really like the inlay-ed wooden fenders, and the wood and leather notepads, but the wood and leather messenger bags are what really caught my attention. The wooden spine on the Kul bags (available in two sizes) was inspired by their “rugged, rigorously tested and proven mud guard designs.” They explain that it “reinforces the shape of the bag, adding protection making it more sturdy and beautiful” and that they “custom-etch the spine to fit the bag perfectly.” The bags are beautiful, and I particularly like the way they can be used as a shoulder bag, or attached to the top tube of a standard frame to make a frame bag.

You can read much more about the products, as well as see pictures and video, on the Kickstarter page. I really do like the wood and leather commuting products that these guys are making, and the fact that they giving so much back to their local community in the process makes the gear even more attractive. Check out what they are doing, and back the project if you feel so inclined.

Posted in Commuter.

Tagged with commuting, fenders, Israel, leather, messenger bag, nisnas, wood.

No comments

By James Thomas – March 1, 2013

Wooden bike by Yojiro Oshima

Yojiro Oshima is a student in the Craft & Industrial Design Department at Musashino Art University in Tokyo. For his final project before graduation, he designed and made a wooden bike (complete with wooden wheels, handlebars, and saddle). His goal with the design was to incorporate the benefits of a beam frame and a standard frame, so the short cantilevered seat beam was designed to “reduce large impacts” while the “seat stay and the chain stay remain as usual to assure the stiffness.”

In addition to the beautifully crafted frame, Yojiro sculpted a wooden handlebar with integrated armrests and created “baton wheels” with an arc between the spokes and rim to soften the ride.

It is a beautiful prototype, and I would love to see a video of it completely built and actually ridden. For now though, see additional still pictures of the bike below.

Posted in Concept, Road, Student Design.

Tagged with reader submitted design, Student Design, wooden bike.

28 comments

By James Thomas – February 26, 2013

NAHBS 2013

The North American Handmade Bicycle Show took place over the weekend, and there is no shortage of coverage around the web. As usual, Urban Velo has one of the best photo galleries from NAHBS, with nice side view profiles and detail shots of many of the bikes. There is also good show coverage at CyclingNews, Bike Rumor, and the Denver Post (for a local perspective on the event). For an adventure bike oriented report, be sure to see this post at Cyclelicious as well. As you can see from the various posts and photo galleries, there seems to be a greater variety of bicycle types at the show each year. All kinds of different frame materials and processes seemed to have been used this year as well, like this bamboo/titanium town bike and an interesting wooden 29er.

Yesterday, on the last day of the show, the winners of the 2013 NAHBS Awards were announced. Rob English of English Cycles took the Best of Show Award with the time trial bike shown above.

The Best Theme Bike and People’s Choice Award went to Butch Boucher, Nate Bradley & Eric Hines of Moots for the Moots/IMBA Trail Maintenance bike (perfectly accessorized with a chainsaw and beer).

Shiko Matsuda was able to take two awards back home to Japan, the President’s Choice Award and the Best Track Bike Award for his Level Keirin Racer.

The Best New Builder Award this year went to Josh Culbertson of Avery County Cycles

Erik Estlund of Winter Bicycles took home the Best Finish Award.

Those are just a few of the awards though, so be sure to see the NAHBS website for more. Also check out the photo galleries mentioned above, and feel free to share any others you have discovered in the comments. There definitely seemed to be something for everybody in the variety of bikes shown this year. I would be curious to hear which one is your personal favorite.

Photo credits: Velosol.com by way of NAHBS

Posted in Events.

Tagged with award, custom bicycles, framebuilding, NAHBS, North American Handmade Bicycle Show.

2 comments

By James Thomas – February 25, 2013

An electric bike design competition from eBikeTec

“Are Electric Bicycles the Future of Cycling?”

Bicycling magazine asked that question recently on Twitter in reference to an article on the growth of e-bikes as a category. The article by David Howard quotes Pat Hus of Interbike, who estimates that “there are now 150 million e-bikes in use worldwide, mostly in China. By 2025, industry officials believe there will be 650 million in circulation and will make up 50 percent of all bike sales.” I have mentioned before that I believe e-bikes have the potential to introduce cycling to many people who have never considered riding a bicycle as adults. Getting more and more people on bikes is the key to changing attitudes about transportational cycling in the United States (and elsewhere) and I think e-bikes can play a significant role in achieving that goal.

From a design standpoint, electric bikes interest me partly because they have a serious image problem to overcome in order to gain wider acceptance in the U.S. (and presumably in other western cultures). For that reason, I am interested in a design competition that is currently being run by the organizers of the eBikeTec Exhibition & Conference, which will be held in Paris, France April 16^th through 18^th.

Gaëtan Bayle of ExtraEnergy France, one of the sponsors of the B to B event, explains the idea behind the competition;

“We decided this year to set up a design contest with a short term vision: concepts ready for going to production, not design for a future vision. We want to boost the local manufacturing, so small scale production units, niche markets…

The goal of eBikeTec this year is to develop the e-2 wheels manufacturing in France, so the design contest is to bring fresh ideas, ready to use, to local manufacturing”

The deadline for the competition is March 5^th,and after the entries are in the jury will decide on the winners in each of three categories- students, independent, and business. In addition to the jury picks, they hope to have public online voting for an extra award. The organizers want to get the winning entries in production soon, perhaps for the next Eurobike or Bike-Expo, so it is a good opportunity to see your design become a reality quickly.

More information about the competition is available at design.ebiketec.fr. The deadline is only a couple weeks away, so get your entries in soon.

Speaking of design competitions, you still have time to vote for your top pick in the Isuda mobile bike share competition staged here at Bicycle Design. So far, our jury pick is not leading in the reader’s choice poll, but the leader could change before voting closes a week from today.

Update 2/26: As I mentioned in the post, this is a topic that interests me greatly, so I am happy to say that I will now be participating on the jury for this competition. Along with the other jurors, I am looking forward to reviewing your entries in a few weeks.

Posted in Concept, E-bike, Events.

Tagged with design competition, E-bike, electric bikes, tradeshow.

17 comments

By James Thomas – February 20, 2013

Backbrat bike grill by Mathias Hintermann

“The joy of cycling, now with brat and beer.” That is the tagline at the bottom of Mathias Hintermann’s webpage for his Backbrat design, a portable grill that attached to a rack on the back of your bike. Mathias explains the idea behind his design.

“In Germany we love cycling, and we love to grill in the park. Backbrat allows you to take a break during your bike trip and enjoy a brat and a beer. Backbrat is seamless. The bike mount gets locked onto the bike rack. This locks the grill, which is all you need for a great day on your bicycle. It gives you a comfortable, efficient and unique experience. Now, you can grill a bratwurst, wherever and whenever you go.”

I have seen DIY bike mounted grills before, like the one in the background of this shot that I took at the Bicycle Film Festival in New York several years ago. Mathias’ design for Bern is the first grill I know of that it is actually designed to mount on a bike though. Obviously, some thought went into the concept, and it is very interesting to see the research, sketches, renderings, and prototypes on Mathias’ site. It is a well documented product design project that is definitely worth checking out…even if you don’t usually crave brats when you ride.